The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) has announced that three of its LEED Professional Credentials have received American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accreditation under international standard ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024, Conformity Assessment: General Requirements for Bodies Operating Certification of Persons.

AHRI Certification Participants’ products featuring energy-efficiency criteria that has not changed since 2010 are subject to annual verification testing starting this year. Energy Star partners participating in AHRI's Commercial Refrigerator Manufacturers, Unitary Large Equipment, Unitary Small Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps, and Water-Source Heat Pumps certification programs are required to register models previously qualified through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prior to Jan. 1 using a U.S. EPA-recognized certification body such as AHRI.

Registration for the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC’s) Government Summit 2011: Fuel for a Clean Energy Economy, formerly the Federal Summit, is open. The summit, which will be held May 10 and 11 in Washington, D.C., focuses on governmental leadership in green building and highlights the roles of public-sector building professionals and private-sector partners in making green building a reality.

Guidance for specifying engineers and designers on how to use building data to improve building operations, energy efficiency, comfort, and sustainability will be developed through newly funded research from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).

According to the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), shipments of commercial gas storage water heaters decreased 7 percent in January 2011 to 6,138 units, down from 6,598 units shipped in January 2010. Shipments of commercial electric storage water heaters increased 6 percent in January 2011 to 4,381 units, up from 4,120 units shipped in January 2010.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) released its 2010 list of top 10 states for LEED-certified commercial and institutional green buildings per capita, based on 2010 U.S. Census information. The District of Columbia led the nation with 25 sq ft of LEED-certified space per person in 2010, while Nevada was the leading state with 10.92 sq ft per person in 2010. Other top states included New Mexico, New Hampshire, and Oregon.

More than 500 building projects have been certified through the LEED Volume Program since the pilot launched in 2006, according to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The program streamlines the certification process for high-volume property owners and managers, from commercial real-estate firms, national retailers, and hospitality providers to local, state, and federal governments.

Two courses related to high-performance building design are being offered as part of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Learning Institute’s spring online series. Twelve online instructor-led short courses will run from late March through early May and are available to those interested in expanding their knowledge of the HVAC industry and keeping up to date with the latest technology. Many courses include updated material.

The IEEE eLearning Library, originally launched for organizational subscriptions, now also provides technical professionals and students with access to individual, fee-based short courses and conference workshops. Members of IEEE, a professional association for the advancement of technology, receive a members-only discount.

Serving the educational and professional-development needs of facility decision makers, NFMT will be held March 15-17 in Baltimore, Md. Composed of four individual, co-located events—the National Facilities Management & Technology Conference & Expo, Maintenance Solutions Expo, GreenTech, and Safe Buildings Expo—NFMT is a free event that features educational sessions, an exhibit hall, and networking events.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) is the lead society for National Engineers Week, which celebrates the contributions engineers make to society and encourages engineering as a career path among young students by promoting pre-college literacy in math and science. National Engineers Week is being celebrated Feb. 20-26. For information about the program, visit www.EWeek.org.

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